SRINAGAR, Oct 5: Police and para-military forces today lobbed smoke shells and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse demonstrators at Eidgah here. The mob pelted stones on the cops and several persons were injured in the clashes.

The authorities had imposed restrictions at Lal Chowk area. The chowk was sealed with barbed wire from all sides. Nobody was allowed to move inside towards the chowk. The traders and some other people, affected by the flood, had announced to offer Eid prayers at Lal Chowk and hold protest demonstrations against the state government for its “callousness” towards the relief and rehabilitation of traders.

Amirakadal Bridge was also sealed. The traders later offered prayers at the mosque at Abiguzar Bund and later held demonstration against the government. JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was arrested from his residence at Maisuma during the wee hours of this morning.

Demonstrations were held at Maisuma amid reports of stone pelting.

Tension mounted at Eidgah after the Eid prayers when the Eid sermon was in progress. Amid demonstrations and stone pelting, police and paramilitary forces burst smoke shells and resorted to lathi-charge.

Thousands of people from different parts of the city had reached Eidgah to offer the Eid prayers. Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressed the people before Eid prayers. He threw light on the massive devastation caused by floods, the alleged indifferent attitude of the state government in providing relief to the affected people. Mirwaiz urged people to help their affected

brethren and also strongly advocated international aid for flood hit people.

Reports said that as the sermon was in progress, a group of youth held demonstrations. This led to stone pelting and use of force. Panic gripped the area with people running helter and skelter. They abandoned their vehicles. A number of vehicles were also damaged. The people alleged that those were damaged by men in uniform.

The clashes continued for some time during which majority of people had a tough while escaping from the spot. Reinforcement of police and paramilitary forces was rushed to the affected area.

The clashes spread to the neighbouring Sekidafar and Cementkadal areas also, where security was beefed up. Security arrangements were tightened in some other sensitive areas of the city as a precautionary measure.

NEW DELHI, Oct 6 (Agencies): Home Minister Rajnath Singh today took strong exception to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan and asked the neighbouring nation to realise ‘the changed ground realities in India’ and stop immediately recurrence of such action.
Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function here, Singh reacted sharply to the incidents of firing by the Pakistan security personnel along the border/LoC in Jammu and Kashmir that had left five people dead and more than two doze